Be inspired by Cultural Traditions

It is the Midsummer Night's Festival time in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Estonia and thereabouts. The real day for the St John's birthday is on the 24th of June, but the celebration starts early. Having a look at the tradition of Midsummer in midwinter Down Under is quite exhilarating.

It is interesting to note how the brain understands the connections between what I can remember from my childhood Midsummer nights in Lapland, where the Sun never went down during this time of the year and now, where instead of the longest day, it is the longest night. However, the weather conditions are about the same.

A few times now, just at the end of May, I have traveled to Melbourne for a conference and there it is exciting to experience the Australian autumn with it's falling Mabel and Birch tree leaves. This has come to represent the Midsummer for me. Even though it is the complete opposite to what my childhood was like, I get very inspired by the walk along the streets in the city where I can experience the winter.



Every year, though, the Scandinavian people in Australia celebrate the Midsummer festival with bonfires and Maypole dancing. It serves as invitation to be inspired by cultural traditions and wonderful memories from you ancestry.

Hyvää Juhannusta & Glad Midsommar, for all.
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Be Inspired By Playful Puppeteering at Any Age

How inspired can you get when someone who has had a long experience in puppeteering is entertaining you and a group of older citizens with playful professionalism? Laughter can lift your spirits high and make your day much brighter.



This is what George Bernard Shaw had to say about play and aging:
"We don't stop playing, because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." His words hold true in every occasion.

Meet Dale Woodward, an Australian pioneering puppeteer and theatre performer. He certainly knows how to hold the attention of his audience. His performance is at the same time informative and fun. He is not lying down after retirement. Oh, no! He is capturing a new audience of fellow senior citizens with his compelling and inspiring ways.

This elephant character named Jazz is made out of junk. He walks to a very jazzy tune and performed to a delighted audience at the Caddies Community Care Centre in Jimboomba inspiring his audience to laughter and playfulness.
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New Nail Polish Technology Presenting Some Fun Inspiration

A few weeks ago, I went to get a manicure at the local Professional Nails Salon. Usually I enjoy getting some nail art done by the 14-year old daughter of the salon owner. It is fun and inspirational and can easily make your day. Not to mention of the conversations it can lead to with family, friends, the work colleagues and other acquaintances.

On this particular day, my usual nail artist was absent, so the owner suggested that I would try the new colour changing acrylic nail polish technology. I am always open to new positive experiences so, yes!




The nail polish has been a huge success in every way. It is an even better conversation starter that the nail art. People have noticed, commented and asked about it at every possible occasion.

At a resent conference, there were several people leaning onto me just to see how the colour changed during an hour when the room went from freezing cold to impossibly warm due to the large audience generating lots of heat.




My ever changing nail polish has created many friendly conversations and led me to meet some very interesting people, who are now my friends on LinkedIn. Anything to enhance the networking opportunities.

Seriously, try it yourself. It does require a positive disposition and an openness to people crowding your space. It might also create a distraction, so some caution is to be applied.

Otherwise, it is just so much fun that I would recommend this kind of inspiration to be adopted by everyone who thinks that creating meaningful conversations on a regular bases is a great goal to accomplish.

So, have fun and enjoy!
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Be Inspired By Top Performance

I went to visit my friend in Victoria, Australia. She took me to her friend's house to see a demonstration of how the Nu Skin, skin-care products, vitamins and the business opportunity works. I had no expectations what so ever. I've seen these things before and not paid much attention. We were six invited women and the AgeLoc technology demonstrator, Colette. I was there just to observe.

However, not very long and I was asking if I could take pictures. Yes, I was told, they wouldn't mind if the pictures ended up on a blog or a Facebook page.




What caught my attention and held it undivided was the ease in which Colette was able to hold on to the group keeping their attention and interest during an approximately three hour demonstration. I was totally fascinated by her top performance. It was incredible inspiring.




The pictures show the intensity the group discussions. All the participants were totally into the moment. It was really extraordinary. I was left thinking about it ever since. If I was doing a demonstration, this would be the way I would do it.

How would I accomplish such ease, such grace of performance?

Partly, it comes from knowing what you are talking about, knowing your stuff, but partly it is the person, the way she holds herself, the way she presents and interacts with her audience.

Experience and training is important but in the end, it is the self-efficiency and the self-confidence of the leader that builds the group dynamics ensuring the overall positive experience for the whole group, leaving you thinking about it for a long time afterwards. So, thanks Colette for your top performance.

I am now a happy user of the Nu Skin products, especially the Galvanic Body Spa and AgeLoc technology. I keep thinking that my grandmother who was a cosmetologist from the 1950's, would have loved the modern technology, too. It definitely is inspiring to live in the world of such a wealth of possibilities.
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Simple and smart advertising can inspire you and make your day

I was driving along the highway, minding my own business, in a serious conversation with myself about the tasks I was supposed to do during the coming day. I could literally feel my jaws crunching.

Ever felt that way? Your mind is so busy that since you know where you are going, the driving task goes on an automatic pilot and some time later you find yourself in the destination wondering how on earth you got there anyway. Suddenly, I saw this sign and not only once, but twice. A simple advertising slogan at the street corners.

Not that I would have anything to put on the sign at the location, but it did inspire me to unclenching my jaws and smiling to myself and to the world. Suddenly, I felt much better!



Maybe, the advertising company is not going to gain much profit from me, but certainly they are gaining this blog posting. And who knows, bringing back my attention to the road helped me to focus on the positives of the day. Like, that it was a sunny day and life generally was going fine. The act of smiling relaxed the muscles of my face and reminded me to stretch and my general wellbeing improved. I simply had to stop, twice, and walk in the sunshine taking pictures, say hello to the people sitting on their poach, waving at me. What a beautiful day!

Drawing inspiration from everything is an important skill and this blog is dedicated to finding the inspiration from the smallest things and making that 3-1 positivity ratio that the modern positive psychology movement is talking about. The challenge is to be inspired again and again by the mundane daily occurrences as well as those great moments in time which truly make you feel like your life is rejuvenating and after which you feel you can do anything.

The further challenge comes from holding to that initial inspiration and maybe even consciously building a mindset that allows that inspiration to spread to your whole being and so affect your actions during the coming days. It is grand stuff to be shared with others and that is what this blog is all about.

So, take care and get into the Inspiration Application Business! :)


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